Zootopia - The Figure killer case
by Daiskida
Summary: Three weeks have passed since the Night Howler case, as both Judy and Nick get appointed towards a new task. What seemed like a simple murder, seems like it may lead into more. Some NickxJudy fluff and later on the scenes might get gruesome, so you've been warned. Zootopia belongs to Disney, I own nothing!
1. Chapter 1 - Setting the stage

Chapter 1: Setting the stage.

Nick groaned heavily, as he heard his phone playing a rather familiar melody. Muttering something under his breath, the fox slowly reached for the phone resting on a nightstand. Staring at the glowing display, his eyes finally managed to recognize the image of the smiling bunny on it. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Nick rolled on his back and stared at the ringing phone in his hand. He could just ignore the call and continue sleeping, but he'd probably get several dozen text messages within the next five minutes, ten minutes later he'll receive messages on his answering machine, fifteen minutes later he'll probably get more calls and twenty minutes later he'll hear banging on his apartment door followed by a familiar voice. So, the fox had to question himself, were those twenty minutes of sleep worth it so he'd just get his partner worried followed by a stern lecture from her on how he should always be in contact. Closing his eyes, he exhaled once more and finally answered the call.

"Nicholas Wilde speaking…." He said, trying to sound like he was half asleep, then again he somewhat was. "State your name, so I can murder you once I'm fully awake…."

"Nick! Are you still in bed? C'mon, time to get up and enjoy the morning" Judy's eager voice replied on the other side. While Nick didn't mind hearing her voice, but when it was this early in the morning, the fox had to fight every urge not to yell at her.

"Ngh….Carrots, for the love off…It's like four AM. Our shift doesn't start until ten, let me sleep…." Nick replied, sounding as whiny as much as he could. Though, in the back of his head he knew it was pointless to argue with her. If there's something he learned from their partnership, is that Judy never knew when to give up, and yet that was something the fox liked about her.

"Nick, I'm going to be at your place in an hour, so you better be dressed before I arrive." The bunny's said sternly on the other end of the line, making Nick roll his eyes.

"Aaaaww…An here I thought you could join me in the shower~" He replied, mentally picturing the bunny now probably going the darkest shade of red from that comment or least tapping her foot from anger.

"Just be ready when I arrive!" The bunny's voice yelled, before the line went dead. Sighing, Nick tossed the phone to the side.

Lying in bed, the fox stared at the ceiling for least two more minutes before finally deciding to get out of bed. Taking his phone, he picked a random song from his collection, after which he made his way towards the shower. Feeling the hot water hit his fur; Nick then closed his eyes and gave a soft sigh. There were times when he would ask himself a simple question, was all this real? Did he really get a new chance in life? Became a cop and wasn't seen as just a thief or a dangerous predator? Sometimes Nick thought this was all just a dream, that in reality he killed Judy back there in the pit or that he never met her and instead is drowning his sorrows in some bar with Finnick. Opening his eyes, the fox took a deep breath and exhaled once again. Shutting off the water, he quickly dried himself and began getting dressed. As he was adjusting his uniform, a set of photos caught his eye. There were roughly four photographs sitting on a small coffee table, approaching them Nick carefully studied each photo. The first was of him when he was young; his mother standing behind him, while the little fox's eyes were filled with hope and dreams a wide smile on his cute little face and even his mother was smiling, despite the situation they both were in. The second thought was of Nick in his teens, wearing a prominent looking suit with a pair of large polar bears at his side, while on his palm stood a pair of shrews, the day when he joined Mr. Big family and felt he was actually going to be part of something big. The third photo showed Nick much older, with several bruises and cuts as Finnick stood beside him also looking quite roughed up, seeing that made a smirk crawl across Nick's muzzle, as he recalled that wasn't just when he made his first bad con, but also when he met Finnick and became friends with the cute fennec, well he considered him a friend. As far as Nick knew, the little guy probably despised his guts. Moving towards the final photo the fox picked it up and slowly moved his finger across the image of him and Judy at Gazelles concert. Seeing him self smiling like that, Nick could have sworn it was a different fox all together, but instead his eyes were aimed at the bunny beside him. His partner and friend, the one who actually saw some good in him, it was kind of weird how much he felt for the cute little bunny. At times, he even wondered if he didn't feel something more than just friendship, but he'd usually brush off those feelings, thinking he was just being stupid. His train of thought was stopped, when he heard several knocks on his door, accompanied by his partner's peppy voice.

"Nick! You better be ready or so help me this door is coming down!" Rolling his eyes again, Nick placed the photo on its spot. Grabbing his phone, earphones, shades and gun, the fox then opened the door and leaned on its side.

"I believe one needs to have a warrant to do that, Carrots~" The fox replied, staring down at the bunny before him.

In his response, Judy crossed her palms under her chest as she tapped her foot impatiently. Whenever, Judy got frustrated with him, her foot would start tapping or she'd twitch her nose and both things would make the bunny look cuter than she already was. Sometimes Nick would just frustrate her on purpose, just to get the same response from her and maybe just to see her blush. Slipping his shades on, the fox closed the door behind him.

"C'mon let's head out, Carrots. Before you tap holes trough the floor" Nick joked, as they headed outside.

The ride towards the station was rather peaceful, with Nick mostly listening to some tunes as Judy was checking her messages. Though on a few occasions the fox would pass a glance or two at his partner, but would quickly look away before their eyes met. Mentally kicking himself, Nick tried to shake off the blush that was starting to heat up on his cheeks.

"So, Carrots you got any plans for today?" He suddenly asked, making Judy break away from her phone as she gave him a puzzled look "I mean…After work and stuff."

"Oh, well maybe hit the gym..mm..I dunno, why?" She asked, staring at the fox with those big adorable eyes, which made his cheeks start to heat up further.

"W-Well..mmm…just thought we could hang out ya know…go out or something like that." Nick stammered, rubbing the back of his neck while a smile crept up on Judy's little face.

"Nick, are you asking me out?" She asked in a playful tone, adding more red to the foxes face.

"W-What? Get real Carrots! I thought..just..ya know…we'd hang out, I mean we've been partners f-for t-three weeks…and well, we kind of barely know each other." Nick quickly replied, trying to sound as cool as possible. Though, while it made Judy giggle she nodded her head.

"Sure, I'd love to grab a drink with you after the work day is done Nick." She replied softly as the two returned to their devices.

The ZPD was busy as always, even before the two officers have arrived. Approaching the desk, Nick watched two tigers dragging away a large gorilla who was screaming something about talking bananas that were made of silk dreams; he also saw two lizards busy arguing with an antelope, something involving drunk driving or the like.

"Heeeeeeeeey! There's the cutest police duo ever~" Clawhausers voice echoed, making Nick snap out of his thoughts again. While Judy rolled her eyes, before tapping her paw against the counter.

"Clawhauser, what did I tell you about the "C" word, hmmm?" She asked with her foot tapping against the marble floor, while the fat cheetah smacked his plump cheeks and gasped.

"Oh! I'm SO sorry Judy! But that's the only word that comes to mind, when I see you both together~" He murmured, trying to sound very sorry for using the "cute" word around Judy. But Nick on the other hand was trying his hardest not to laugh at this

"Anyway, you got anything for us, big buy?" Nick asked, as he saw that Judy was close to turning several different shades of red. That was a sign for a quick topic change before her ears began to emit steam like in those old cartoons.

"Oh? Oh yes, yes! Chief Bogo did have an assignment for you both. Apparently a murder has happened at the Tropical District, he didn't give many details. But said it was very important and you need to get down there ASAP" Clawhauser said, already going for the next donut while both Nick and Judy looked at each other with puzzled expressions. Then, the plump cheetah pushed a small file across the table, with Nick's and Judy's names on it, and the case name itself "Homicide."

Staring at those words, Judy felt a strange chill run down her spine. It wasn't like this was new to her, back in the academy they did go over various stuff that would be involved with homicide from profiling to naming the time of death, infact on a few occasions they even had to study dead bodies up close to understand how the victim perished. But still, this was probably her first case that would involve something like this. Swallowing heavily, her paw slowly reached for the file as she gave a silent nod to Clawhauser and began to leave. Looking at his partner, Nick just nodded to Clawhauser as he followed after the bunny.

"Hey Carrots, you aren't freaked out by this are you?" He asked, his hand gently resting on her shoulder while Judy took a deep breath. Looking back, she flashed a friendly smile.

"No! Ofcourse not, its police work after all, you do end up running into such stuff eventually. So, since this is our first homicide case, I say we better hurry up to the scene!" She declared, flashing a wide smile and then hurried towards the car.

Standing there, Nick tilted his head wondering if this was just an act his friend was pulling to appear brave or was she truly eager about solving her first homicide case. Whatever it was, Nick quickly hurried after the bunny.

* * *

As their car finally arrived to the Tropical District, Nick saw several police cars and an ambulance the distance. Looking back at Judy, he was getting more worried about how quite the bunny was during their ride. He understood that this wasn't a case one could joke about, this wasn't busting street racers or even making a raid on a chop shop, but he was still worried about her, to him the bunny what somewhat fragile when it came to spirit and nerve. Then again, he could have been just misjudging her. As they pulled over, Judy got out first with Nick following after her.

"Ya know, it would have been nice if they picked a place somewhere less wet and rainy, eh?" Nick finally spoke out, trying to break the awkward silence, but Judy didn't say anything. But, Nick decided to continue "I mean, I'm all okay with wet and smelly places, but I already had a sho-"

That's when the fox stopped as both he and Judy eyed the crime scene. Above, suspended between two tree's was a female body, several metal hooks were driven into her palms, legs and one in her back with said hooks connected to heavy cables that went down and looked like they were tied to metal spikes that were driven into the ground. Thus, it all resembled as if it was a puppet hung on strings. Swallowing hard, Nick stood still as he eyed the scene for what seemed like ages, until he was broken from his trance by Judy pulling his sleeve. Shaking out of his gaze, the two approached another pair of officers, a grizzly bear and jaguar. It was weird that he was affected by the sight so much, after all he used to be in crime family and he did see on several occasions someone getting "iced" or even worse. So, why was this scene making him feel almost sick.

"Hey Hopps, hey Wilde" The jaguar murmured staring at the two, as his gaze traveled towards the tree, where a pair of baboons were busy trying to remove the body from it.

"Hey guys, what's the story?" Nick asked, his own eyes still glued towards the tree as well.

"Couple of teens found her like that, at first they thought it was some sort of dummy but as they approached closer they saw it wasn't." The grizzly replied, taking sip of some coffee. Judy meanwhile shook her head as she looked around.

"So, do we know who the victim was or the time of death?" She quickly asked, her mind already going all she has learned in the academy, making sure she hasn't missed the slightest detail in such a procedure.

"Not at the moment, we weren't able to find any ID or the victim's purse, so guess that'll be up for the vultures down at the coroner office. Same for the time of death, rain goes trough place several times, so it'll be hard to tell." The grizzly muttered, while Judy rapidly nodded her head as she watched the body being lowered down and placed in a body bag.

"So, did you guys find anything else here?" Nick asked the jaguar, who nodded producing a pair of plastic bags.

Looking at bags contents, both Nick and Judy saw two different objects inside, one held what seemed like a little porcelain figurine of a small fish with it's head looking up and mouth open, while the other bag held a little marionette shaped like a female cat with strings tied around it's legs and arms.

"We found it under the tree, right near the body. Seems like the killers calling card or something." The grizzly commented, while Judy took the bag with the porcelain figurine and studied it carefully.

"Since this is yours and Wilds case, I'd say we're going to be heading off. Have fun, hero cops" The grizzly joked, tossing Nick the other plastic bag as the two began to leave.

Looking back at them, Nick stuck his tongue out at the two with index and middle finger held up in the air.

"Jog on, you twats." He muttered, before looking back at the other bag and then at Judy "So, got any ideas, Carrots?"

"Not the slightest, I'd say until we get a report we won't have much to work with. However…I have this strange feeling this won't be the last figurine." Judy whispered, taking both bags and began to quickly head towards the car.

* * *

" _If we could know when we're going to die, then our lives probably would have a different meaning. Anyone with the knowledge that they are going to die in the next hour probably won't do anything stupid, pointless or useless_."

Those words have never sounded truer than anything else, but what if instead half a century keeps you away from death isn't that the same? I was just ten when my mother died; I remember her body lying right there on the floor in front of me. I didn't do anything, I didn't even approach her. Was I scared? Scared of what, death? Kind of silly to try to understand that death is inevitable, especially when you're just a ten year old. But, in that moment I understood that everyone can choose their time and place of death, after all that's the biggest choice in life, no matter what animal you are. There isn't much beauty in this world; it's all just bland and pointless. If there's beauty in death, than that should have a reason. Maybe it's not beauty or love that saves the world, but death? Maybe it saves everyone from this cruel world and reality.

My first victim wasn't anything special, a poor little snow leopard from the low commune part of the tundra district. Getting her trust wasn't hard, all I had to do was to send a few expensive gifts to her and before I knew it, she was smitten. As she sat in my car, I saw her badly combed frizzled hair done in a ponytail, cheap makeup covering her face, clothes that wouldn't even be worn by hookers or prostitutes while the smell of alcohol seemed like it never left her, poor thing. Almost a candle that never became bright enough and instead was snuffed by the hardships of life, she was busy telling me about how she was once a prominent ballet dancer. But because of some scandal her entire career went down the toilet and instead she ended up as a nightclub dancer. I just nodded my head, pretending that I was listening. It wasn't long before we arrived to our destination, a small clearing in the rainforest district. The night air smelled crisp here, the rain just went trough while the moonlight danced in the headlights of my car. It was simple perfection, a stage set and all prepped up for the actors to take their place.

"Hey, why are we here? You said you'd take me to your mansion." She muttered, her words somewhat slurred. I just gave a soft smile, shaking my head.

"Mansion, my sweet girl. No, this is something much more special, c'mon let's step out for a little. I want to see how well you can dance" I replied taking a sledgehammer and some heavy cables that was in the backseat.

As we stepped out, I watched her prance around; I had to admit that despite what the alcohol did to her mind, her body was still in good shape. But don't worry my sweet, it'll be all over soon and you'll be free from all this pain and misery. Pulling out a metal spike from my coats pocket, I set into the ground and began to drive it in.

"You know my dear, a wise poet once said "If I have nothing to lose, than it cannot be taken away from me." Tell me, do you have anything to lose? Have you even seen life beyond a bottle of poison? Infact, do you think your life even has a meaning now?" I asked, ramming the metal spike deeper into the ground.

"Yes! Ofcourse it does! I'll be a star again! I'll make it out, I know I will! Then, everyone will speak my name and remember me! I know I can do it!" She yelled out, her back turned to me as I slowly approached her.

"Oh, you are right my sweet. Everyone will remember you and your name as well ~" I whispered, raising my sledgehammer above me.


	2. Chapter 2: Let it burn, let it burn

_Authors Note:_ Hey there everyone! Sorry for taking so long with the 2nd chapter! I had some health and life issues, but I hope this will make up for it! 3rd Chapter will be worked right away and as always hope you enjoy this! Also, many thanks for the favs and reviewe's! Anyway, on with the show!

 _Next day….._

The cold air escaped from Judy's mouth as she and Nick were making their way towards the morgue. Even though both had their warm furs, the pair still felt the icy-chill digging into their skin, Judy never liked the morgue, even when she was in the academy, the place still gave her the creeps. She recalled how one time they had to witness an autopsy and two of the cadets pretty much threw up and one even fainted, Judy herself didn't have any reaction. Though, in her head she would hear whispers of the dead asking why he was here, why nobody saved him and now he was just being used for a class and dissected before several bastards who were either barfing out their lunch or fainting, Judy never told this to anyone and why would she? Last thing she needed was to be considered insane and then kicked out of the academy. Still, that was when she was just a cadet, so maybe this time it wouldn't happen. After all, she has Nick by her side and being a cop means she would encounter corpses eventually. An yet, the close they were approaching the door, more and more Judy felt her heart starting to beat faster, her muscles were getting tighter, her breathing was becoming more ragged

"A penny for your thoughts, Carrots?" A sudden voice called Judy out of her daze. Looking towards the source, she met with eye to eye with Nick.

"Ummm…N-Nothing important, l-let's get to this autopsy!" Judy replied, giving her usual smile. It was then when she noticed that she and Nick were standing before the door, with the fox having a nervous look in his eyes and clearly worried for his partner.

Ignoring the gaze, Judy then opened the door and peeked inside. The room itself wasn't fairly big, medium sized and circle shaped with another door on the other side. The room had rows of cabinets all of various shapes and sizes, which wasn't much of a surprise to Judy, there were also a bookcase in the left corner, filled with various files and documents probably information on every animal that ever arrived here and left in another corner she could see a sink also looking very well cleaned up, in the middle stood a table with what seemed like a body lying on it and covered by a sheet, one didn't need to be a genius to guess who was lying under that sheet. Then a sudden smell of bleach, spirit and some other chemicals hit the bunny's nostrils, which made her nearly jump back and cough several times. Managing to take a deep breath, Judy then stepped back inside with Nick following after her. Even inside the place had a rather odd chill and it wasn't just the temperature, almost like any second all these cabinets would fly open and then all the stiffs would all crawl out and attack both police officers.

"Swear no more zombie movies or zombie games before bed…." Nick commented to himself.

"So, any idea where the stiff master is?" He asked Judy looking at her, while the bunny just shrugged

"Why I'm up here, Officer Wilde~" A sudden voice called from above, making the two cops look up.

Before they knew it, a shadow zoomed down from the darkness and landed besides the sheet covered body. Nick by instinct went for his gun, but stopped at the last second and just stared somewhat shocked as even Judy had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. The figure in question had long pointy ears, a scrunched up muzzle, pair of pointy fangs showing from it, a gray fuzzy fur patch peeking from underneath the figures T-shirt and a white doctors' coat resting on his shoulders, but what finished the picture was a pair of red eyes staring at the two. By all simplicity, what they were looking at was an ordinary bat, but what made this bat stand out was his size as he was almost close to July's size. While Judy was shocked by the size, what spooked Nick more were those sharp fangs and those glowing red eyes, now he was really regretting going to this place with Judy. Then again, he was scared to think what would happen to his bunny if she was left with this thing.

" _What…did I just say "my bunny"?"_ Nick asked himself mentally and then gave himself a mental slap for thinking such a stupid thought.

The bat in question meanwhile walked across the table and approached the two animals. The red flames in his eyes slowly studying the two, as if they were a pair of snacks ready for him to enjoy, flashing his sharp fangs he then slowly extended one of his hands.

"Officer Hopps, it's a pleasure to meet you. I heard many stories about you~." The bat hissed softly, making Judy blush from the compliments while Nick scoffed rolling his eyes.

"Ummm..Well thank you, Doctor…ummm…"

"Vilheim, Doctor Vilheim, but everyone here calls me simply "Doc." The coroner said, giving a polite bow, which made Nick nearly his best not to snicker.

"Oh yeah, who does the stiffs or your blood sucking victims?" Nick finally asked, then gasped as he felt Judy's elbow buried in his side.

"I'm sorry for my partner's sharp tongue, -Umm…Doc." Judy quickly corrected herself, as the coroner raised his claw. Chuckling, he then shook his head and made his way towards the sheet.

"Please, no need to apologize, Officer Hopps, I get such jokes from time to time, I understand it's not usual for a fruit bat to be this..mm…big~" He said, pulling the sheet away to reveal the dead snow leopards body.

"Fruit bat? Could have fooled me…" Nick whispered to Judy, which got him a glare from the bunny. Shrugging, he then approached the body with Judy as they stared at her, while Vilheim slipped on a pair of goggles to cover his eyes, while slipping on some special gloves on his claws

"So, shall we begin?" He murmured, and then his gaze carefully studied the body. Showing his sharp fangs again "Female Snow leopard, thirty two year of age, time of death is hard to put due to the weather changes in Tropical zone, but by my guess I would say around midnight. 'Cause of death, strangulation by a tight rope." He murmured carefully using the scalpel showing a rope burn on the female's neck. Studying it carefully, Judy then took a photo with her phone.

"So, she was strangled from behind? Was she also raped by any chance?" Nick asked, as Judy glared at him again "Hey, logical questions Carrots, don't stare at me."

"No, Officer Wilde. I didn't find any evidence of sexual violation, but I did find large doses of alcohol in her blood stream. While strangulation was what killed her, it wasn't the first blow." Vilheilm hissed, and then carefully lifted the snow leopards head, showing a deep dent in the back of her head.

"A blow was done to the back of her head, I'd say with a heavy blunt object. Judging by the dent, it seems she has a metal plate in the back of her head, so explains why the blow didn't kill her. On her right jaw, there are also signs that she was punched hard. This brought her down, thus disorienting her and well…" He moved his claw across his neck, followed by an apathetic chuckle.

"Did you find any traces of DNA of the killer?" Judy finally asked out, her eyes almost glued to the body. The fruitbat shook his head, as he removed his gloves.

"No, I did however find something in her mouth." He hissed, making the two cops look up. Humming, the fruitbat made his way towards the sink and produced a small bowl in which both Judy and Nick saw a small capsule in it.

Looking at the capsule, Nick then fished it out and studied the little capsule. Then, twisting it to the side, he managed to pop it open as a small piece of paper came out. Staring at the little note, the fox carefully opened it. Inside, both he and Judy saw a message that was done with careful hand writing.

" _Death has a face and you shall see it."_ The note said, as both Nick and Judy looked at each other.

"It seems someone is putting on a show for you, Officers." Vilheim commented, as Judy grabbed the piece of paper then turned around and began leaving "I guess that's your que, Officer Wilde~"

Nick didn't waste anytime as he followed after his partner. In the corridor, Judy quickly produced her phone and saw there was a message from Clawhauser. Calling him back, Judy finally got outside and into her car.

"Clawhauser, tell me that you found something good…." The bunny said in a rather cold tone, which made Nick's own fur stand up.

"Well, yes I did Judy gal. Let's see..mm..I have the file…Ah! Here we are! Natasha Romanova, 30 years old…used to be prominent ballet dancer..mmm…sadly her career was ruined do to a head injury and later a drinking scandal..mmm….let's see…ah! Adress! Tundra District, Tunguska Street, apartment 34~" The fat cheetah said on the other end of the line, just as Nick climbed inside.

"Thanks Clawhauser, we'll be there in a few." Judy replied as she hanged up, as Nick buckled up "Familiar with Tunguska Street?"

"Yeah, I used to live there before I joined . The place is just a dump where you get a ton of drunks, hobos and occasional junkies. Not surprised our stiff lived there…" Nick muttered, as he allowed for Judy to drive "So, why so eager Carrots, wanna make the headlines again?"

Not getting any response or even a glare really began to worry the fox. Rubbing the back of his head, the fox turned his gaze towards window and murmured, hoping this would least break down the tension in the car.

"Was this your first time seeing a dead body?" He asked which finally got a response from Judy. Stopping at the red light, Judy rested her head against the wheel.

"Not really, I mean back at the academy we did have classes on autopsy and stuff..." She said, but then Nick quickly interrupted her.

"You know what I mean carrots, first time dealing with a homicide case?" He asked, looking at her from the corner of his eye. Giving another sigh, the bunny nodded and continued to drive.

"What about you, Nick?" She asked, wanting to take her mind off what she saw in the morgue. But, that wasn't gonna happen, she practically memorized every single word and detail the coroner has told her.

"Tch….Not my first time Carrots, working for I've seen plenty of corpses hell I even helped create a few, hell living the slums of the Tundra District you'd occasionally see some dead junkies or the like." He said, giving an idle shrug as if this wasn't anything new to him.

"Ummm….Was it scary, ya know when you had to kill someone or see someone die?" Judy asked, she didn't wanna keep pressing her partner. But, part of her mind kept nagging her about this, after all she wasn't in any shoot outs even with her being trained how to use guns.

"Honestly, I didn't really feel much. Hard to say, maybe it's because I was somewhat young or maybe because I'm a fox and it's something natural for us." He muttered, not wanting to continue this talk. Judy blinked, but nodded as they continued their drive

* * *

The tundra district was cold as always, fresh snow was slowly falling down and giving the entire place almost like an adorable Christmas post card appearance, only thing was missing was the flickering lights. Sadly, such a thing couldn't be said about Tunguska Street. The place resembled almost something from a bad post apocalyptic movie, plenty of buildings looked boarded up or close to falling apart, and trash bags covered several of the porches and streets, finally burning barrels here and there. Looking at the scene, Judy was simply too shock to even utter anything, and then Nick spoke up as if reading her mind.

"Originally this was place was supposed to be rebuild, new buildings and apartments. Sadly, the local gangs weren't really hot about the idea, so they started attacking the construction crews even going as far as murdering 'em or setting shit on fire. Not to mention, this was during the time the harsh blizzards began to hit, thus the project was abandoned and this place sank even further." Nick said, as he stared out the window and sighed in a nostalgic way.

It was weird, but seeing this place felt very home like for Nick, after all this was where he and Finnick first met. Hell, the fox could pinpoint the exact location where the little fennec and the fox beat the crap out of each other. Sighing softly, Nick closed his eyes as he felt the car pull over. Grabbing his jacket, the fox quickly got out and followed after his partner, the apartment building they were looking for has defiantly seen better days; six broken windows, a busted open door, graffiti covering the walls outside and inside, not to mention the smell off piss, booze and whatever God knows what else filled the inside of the building. Judy mentally kicked herself for not bringing a gas mask with her, right now her poor nose felt like it was gonna commit suicide or something and her stomach was gonna unleash her breakfast and lunch in one combo. Finally, they found the needed apartment door and knocked several times, behind the door the two hard some cursing and shuffling before the door finally opened. Before them stood a brown bear, wearing an old looking sweater with patches and rips here and there, a plaster on his nose along with a quite a noticeable black left eye, finally what finished the picture was the smell of spirits coming from his body, enough to knock out even the most sober person.

"Y-Yes, can I help you?" The bear asked with a very thick accent.

"Ummm...Yes, I'm officer Hopps and this is Officer Wilde, we wanted to ask some questions about Miss Romanova" Judy said, as the bear instantly sighed and stepped aside.

"Figures, come inside officers, better than standing in the open." he murmurred. Shrugging, Nick went inside with Judy following suit.

The apartment wasn't big, but it defiantly rivaled Judy's one room place. Hell, this place actually had three rooms, sure one was a bathroom and a small kitchen, but it was still here. Stepping in what seemed like the apartments living room and bedroom at the same time, the two saw plenty of old furniture, a couch resting against the left wall as it was covered in dirt, stitches and patches, a beat up old closet with one door clearly missing, there was also a cupboard which had some old photos and statues standing on it, next to it were some posters which looked like they were used to decorate the pealing off wallpaper, an old and practically barely working TV was in another corner, finishing this picture was a dimly lit light bulb above and an old coffee table which had several bottles of spirits on it and plates with snacks, some bottles were half empty while others were fully. Sitting down on the couch, the bear grabbed one of the bottles and poured himself a glass.

"So, what did she do this time?" He asked, staring at the two from underneath his eyebrows. Nick then looked at Judy and nodded towards the bear, giving a sigh Judy closed her eyes and spoke.

"I-I'm very sorry sir, but Miss Romanova has been killed." She said solemnly. The bear stopped with the glass close to his mouth, and then a deep sigh escaped from his lips as he chugged down the contents.

"I see...I knew that it would eventually happen. The dumb girl..." He muttered, and then poured himself another glass "I honestly haven't seen her since yesterday, ever since she started getting these gifts…"

"Gifts?" Nick asked, as the bear nodded pointing towards the closet.

Opening the door, the two saw several boxes of various shapes and sizes inside. Studying them carefully Judy saw the boxes filled with some expensive clothes and trinkets. Digging trough one of the boxes, Judy spotted what looked like a check from yesterday, showing it to Nick; he gave a nod and turned his head back towards the bear.

"She kept talking about how she's gonna start a new life, apparently met some rich schmuck or something. He was the one who bought her all that shit, then she grabbed her stuff and went…." The bear said, finishing the glass. Looking up at Nick, he then saw the fox offering him a packet of smokes.

"Tell me, Smokey the bear did Natasha collect any dolls or figurines by any chance? Ones shaped like a small fishes?" Nick asked, as the bear took a cig.

"Sorry, I was never interested in her personal stuff officers." He muttered, as Nick offered him a light. The two officers stared at each other and sighed, knowing this was a dead end. Just then, Judy spotted an old looking journal on the table, opening it the bunny quickly flipped trough the pages seeing a rather badly made handwriting.

"Was this hers?" She asked, getting a nod from the bear.

"Yeah, she'd occasionally write down various recipes she saw on TV, she wasn't much a cook to be honest…."

* * *

The atmosphere inside Bogo's office was quite strained; infact the word "tensed" wasn't even fitting the situation right now. Both Nick and Judy sat in complete silence as they watched the large buffalo slowly pace back and forth, before he finally sat down. Eyeing the two officers, his eyes narrowed as he finally spoke.

"Well, what do you have for me?" He half growled, as Nick gulped usually being ready for a witty line, but even he knew right now wasn't the time or place.

"Well…We're working sir..umm…W-We're trying our best…" Judy stammered as Bogo interrupted her, as he pulled out the fresh file.

"Well, what have you "worked out", hm?" He asked, staring at Judy who felt like she was ready to fall trough the floor, but this time Nick entered the conversation.

"Well, we determined that Miss Romanov didn't write the letter herself, the hand writing isn't the same as the one we located in her personal journal." The fox replied, now getting a glare from Bogo himself. Flashing a faint cocky grin, Nick tried his best to look as self-assured as he always was, but deep inside he wanted to melt trough the floor like Judy.

"I see, you know…I think both of you just want me dead and gone." Bogo said, making the two look at each other "Question is, what you will do when I'm gone…."

"First throw a party and then keep on working, what else…" Nick said, getting a punch in the rib from Judy and a glare from Bogo. Then, the buffalos gaze turned back to Judy but looking somewhat more relaxed.

"Wilde, you are dismissed; I need to speak with Hopps in private." Bogo said, just as Nick was about to interject, Judy grabbed his hand and shook her head. Giving a silent nod, Nick then got up and left the office.

Now staying all alone, Judy felt the tension returning and clawing not just at her mind but also at her very heart and lungs. If she didn't know any better, she felt like someone or something was pretty much trying to strangle her alive and her little bunny heart was gonna be torn out from her chest. Then, she felt Bogo's hand on her should, having completely missed how he got up and walked behind her.

"Just, tell me something Hopps, that'll hopefully save me from any future hospital visits." He rmurmured, as Judy looked up at him. One didn't need to be a psychic to guess what was going trough the little bunny's mind, confusion, despair and defiantly plenty of self blame.

"I….I don't know what to tell you sir, honestly…" She whispered, lowering her head, with her ears pressing against her tiny head. Shaking her head, Bogo then walked around and crouched before Judy, lifting her head to stare into her eyes.

"You know what I think is going trough your head? You're thinking that someone is out to get you, because you and Wilde were famous for the Night Howler case. That someone started a dangerous game, and an innocent life was lost in said game. You believe that you and Wilde are to blame for this, but you wish to take the entire blame on yourself, am I right?" He asked, and then noticed Judy's lip quivering a little bit with her eyes becoming wet. Giving a nod, Bogo sighed and then patted her head "That's why you cannot think, 'cause your heart is overwhelming your brain. I'm asking you, to turn off your emotions for now Hopps and turn on that bright head of yours, understand? I want you to find this Prankster…."

Wiping her eyes, Judy gave a determined nod as she then quickly left the office. Ignoring Nick's voice, the bunny felt like the world was going in slow motion. Until she was finally grabbed by the fox and spun around to meet him face to face.

"Carrots, I asked if you were alright and if you wanted a drink." He said, staring into her eyes. Being this close, Judy felt her heart oddly skip a beat while her cheeks began to heat up. But then, she quickly snapped out of her funk and smiled a tad.

"Y-Y-yeah, I'm fine N-Nick….S-Sorry, I guess I'm still a little shooken up..and..mm..sure! Drink sounds nice, but let's not go to crazy..I..mm..We still have a case to solve." She said, giving him a soft smile, which in return made Nick relax as well.

* * *

" _Fear of death happens only to adults. Only those who have time to think about this topic, especially if you have plenty of time. In the end, you arrive to an interesting conclusion, very interesting indeed."_

I had to wonder if my first performance got their attention, it was hard to tell. But maybe, they needed another showing; after all sometimes you need to repeat the message. For that, I found another perfect candidate, a weasel from the slums of the city. From what I learned, among the homeless they called him "Stinky", quite an appropriate nickname. Getting his trust wasn't hard, just had to offer him two hundred bucks and some whiskey; soon enough he agreed to follow me wherever I asked. An here we were, an old construction site with Stinky tied to a chair while I was pouring gasoline around him. I have to wonder if anyone would remember or miss him, after all he must've had a family or loved ones before he became a hobo or maybe everyone hated and despised him and that's why he became a person without a past or future, just getting drunk constantly and not even caring for when he lives or dies. Maybe, when this is over nobody will even remember his name or bother to write it on a grave stone, they'll just burry him in a hole and call it a day. I heard him muffling screams as I carefully poured a line of gasoline from where he sat, don't worry poor "Stinky" soon everyone will remember your name and soon you'll achieve peace. You won't be hurt by this world any longer, nor will you be insulted for your smell or made fun because you have no place to live. I flicked my lighter and then tossed it on the ground, watching the line of fire travel towards the weasel was kind of fascinating, almost like an arrow guiding itself towards a target or a serpent crawling towards a juicy meal, soon I saw his entire body engulfed in fire as he trashed and screamed for a while, before going limp. Maybe it was just the strange mix of gasoline and burned flesh, maybe it was the poetic beauty but in this moment I swore I saw the little weasels soul being carried away to the sweet embraces of salvation and peace.


	3. Chapter 3: The Drowned

_Authors Note: I first wanna bring apologize to the readers for taking so damn long on this chapter (which in my mind isn't as good as I wanted it to be), thing is I was hit with some persona problems and really heavy writers block combined with depression. Still, hope this chapter will be good for you chaps and well, currently cracking on the 4th chapter as we speak. As always reviews are ALWAYS welcomed._

Chapter 3: The drowned

The ringing of the phone sounded like someone put a bell over Judy's head and was whacking it with a sledge hammer over and over. Opening one eye, the little bunny groaned as she found herself in her small apartment, a pair of empty carrot vodka bottles stood on the table, with her phone lying on said table and still ringing. Giving another groan, Judy turned on her back as she tried to recall what exactly happened to her, she did remember how she was a killer robot from the future send to destroy little fluffy animals and then she ended up fighting some ninja monkeys in the process of it. But, when the haze was starting to pass by, Judy began to recall some more details. After work, she and Nick did hit a bar where Judy told him constantly not to drink too much and yet she herself began hitting the carrot vodka quite hard, which she considered was because she was still blaming herself for that snow leopards death but she told Nick it was because she needed to really relax and forget her troubles. After being quite smashed she dragged Nick into the nearest game arcade where she was busy pumping quarters into one of those rail shooters, she also recalled getting into a fight with some gorillas. But, the rest was just a simple blur for her; finally managing to get out of bed she approached the mirror to check herself over. Staring at her reflection, Judy began to wonder if her brain wasn't implanted into another bunny's body or someone did a hasty plastic surgery on her. Her fur was a complete mess, while her eyes were red and puffy, it was hard to tell if it was because she cried a lot or because of all the booze she consumed not to mention, plus right now her head felt two sizes too small for her brain. The ringing was still present, as the bunny grabbed the phone and was going to throw into the trash can, but then her eye caught that the caller ID belonged to Nick. Freezing, Judy bit her lower lip and after ten seconds of hesitating finally replied.

"Hopps speaking..." She muttered, feeling her voice sounding a tad dry as she still felt the aftertaste of the spirits and something else. Probably whatever she ate last night, if she ate at all even.

"Hey Carrots, finally decided to answer, eh? Never took you for a deep sleeper." Nick's voice responded on the other end, sounding somewhat peppy or least trying "So, how are you feeling?"

"Like ten pounds of shit in a five pound bag..." Judy muttered, as she wiped some sleep from her eyes. Going silent, she then sat on her bed before speaking again "Did...Did I do anything stupid last night?"

Silence filled the line on the other end, as Judy began to mentally picture that she did embarrass herself in some fashion, maybe she insulted Nick maybe she puked in the car or danced naked on a bar table. Then, Nick's voice finally responded, breaking Judy's imagination.

"Nah, you did nearly get into a fight with a pair of gorilla bikers after one of them called you a fluffy plush toy. Good thing the arcade owner was a buddy of mine and he made sure a fight didn't break out. After that, I drove you home while you were bawling your eyes out. There, just tucked you in and made sure you fell asleep" Nick replied softly as Judy felt her heart beat slow down, her cheeks heating up a tad from hearing him speak so gently.

"I...I see..mmm..T-Thanks Nick, guess I owe you. Though, I guessing you just didn't call to make sure I slept well." Judy murmured as she heard a deep sigh escape from Nick.

"Our boy has struck again..." Nick muttered, as Judy felt her hangover quickly vanishing as she began to get dressed quickly while putting the phone on loudspeaker mode.

"Same M.O. as the last one?" She asked, hurriedly putting on a fresh shirt.

"Yeah, the little fish statue and marionette, only neither of 'em were burned." He said, making Judy stop in mid dressing, as her eyes turned towards the phone. Giving a deep gulp, she approached it and whispered.

"Weren't burned?" She asked, while mentally praying the answer wasn't going to be what she expected.

"The victim was burned alive, body was found at a construction site." Nick responded as Judy nearly dropped her phone.

Standing still, Judy felt like everything around her simply froze in time and the only thing she could hear was the sound of her beating heart and heavy breathing. Right now, her mind was going over and over what just Nick said, a strange feeling brewing in her stomach as she felt once again that she was gonna vomit, while the world itself was starting to lose all color and semblance of connection. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Judy then felt the world return to normal speed, as Nick's voice was calling her from somewhere.

"Carrots? Carrots are you okay?" The fox's voice called from the other end of the phone, clearly worried about his partner.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine Nick, I'll be over soon." Judy replied in an oddly calm tone, before Nick could say another word she hung up.

Upon entering the station, Judy noticed some of the officers falling silent, with a few staring at her as others whispered among themselves. With Judy's eyes half closed she didn't feel like she was in control of her body, more like she was on autopilot while her soul and mind were drifting near the andromeda galaxy. Approaching the table, she stared at Clawhauser with somewhat dull eyes and then extended her hand.

"The file please…" She whispered, staring at the fat cheetah who clearly was hesitating.

"Umm…Judy, sugar. Maybe..mm…maybe you shouldn't. I mean..mm..I'm sure Bogo can ask someone el-"But before he could finish, Judy flashed him a glare

"Clawhauser, give me the goddamn file!" She half yelled then gritted her teeth as the cheetah yelped and quickly handed over the document.

Staring at the pictures, Judy felt her eyes dull a tad more, the photos showed the burned remains of what seemed like a weasel by the skeletal structure. Looking at the information, she found out that body was discovered by a few patrolling officers spotted the smoke in the distance, later they asked some of the homeless citizens nearby, finding out that the victims name was "Stinky" because of a fur disease he had. But all that was trivial stuff, as among the notes Judy saw a plastic bag which held a note in it.

" _Death has no connection to us while we exist. Death is nonexistent; when it comes we longer exist"_ The note said, as Judy closed the file and then felt someone's hand on her shoulder. Looking into his eyes, Judy saw plenty of worry for her.

"You sure you're okay, Carrots?" He whispered, only getting a brief nod from Judy when Bogo's voice rang trough the station

"HOPPS! WILDE! MY OFFICE NOW!" The yell made the two cops stop and turn their heads, seeing Bogo's furious gaze scanning them both.

As they ventured inside the office, Bogo was busy watching the new where it was clear the so called "Prankster" was the hot news talk; only instead the news junkies called him "The puppeteer" because of his calling card. But that made Nick roll his eyes, seeing his two officers Bogo muted the TV as he turned in his seat.

"Well, hope you enjoy this little publicity, because I can tell you that the mayor is having a field day on my ass! It's only two victims so far, but I doubt it won't be long before we have a 3rd one or worse, now I want to hear something and it better be good." The buffalo growled, as Judy looked up and was about to speak, when Nick butted in instead.

"Judging by his writing it doesn't seem like the guy is too crazy and the skills he creates his puppets also shows that. Never the less, me and Hopps are gonna try and narrow down the list to animals who least have some profession in puppet work, it's a long shot but least something to work with. We're also gonna question some of the..mm..hobo friends of the victim, maybe they saw something as well which they didn't wanna include in the report" Nick explained, getting surprised stares from Judy and Bogo.

Coughing a few times, the chief gave an approving nod as the two officers quickly left the office. Outside, Judy felt Nicks' hand on her shoulder

"Coroners place again?" He simply asked, getting a nod from Judy. Giving a sigh, Nick closed his eyes and then left with Judy as the other officers watched them, with more whispers echoing after them

As they arrived to the coroners place, they saw the fruit bat was packing his things when he saw the two cops, with the burned remains sitting in the middle of the room, up-close it almost looked like an unfinished statue with just the skeletal base created, infact the wide open mouth seemed like it was mocking Judy for not being able to save him.

"Hello Officers, how's the investigation going on?" Vilheim asked softly, looking at the two with a gentle smile.

"Not so great, we thought you could help us out somewhat, Dracula." Nick said, and then looked at Judy as he was surprised for not even getting a glare from her. The Bunny's gaze and attention was all fixed on the burned remains.

"Oh and how can I help?" The fruit bat asked, as Nick handed him the note.

"I'm not exactly an expert in writing, but maybe this will tell you something" The fox murmured, as the bat studied the writing. Then, Nick raised his eyebrow as he noticed a strange shift in the bats eyes.

"Hehe…No sorry, I can't really help much. Sounds like a ramblings of a madman to me." The coroner replied, handing Nick back the note.

"Well, it was worth a try. Anyway, sorry for taking your time, Doc. Me and Carrots will be off~" Nick said, flashing his usual grin as the two departed.

Leaving Vilheilm alone, he sighed wiping some sweat from his eyebrow as he then reached into his coats pocket and pulled out his phone. Dialling a number, he then leaned against a table rubbing his eyes, until finally a response came.

"Yes…Yes it's me…Yes, I saw the news and there's no doubt about it….it's defiantly him. I know…I should tell this to the officers, but….maybe I can stop him myself. Yes…very well, I'll be in touch…" He then hung up and placed the phone back in his pocket while slowly sliding down to the floor.

* * *

During their drive towards the crime scene, Nick tried his best to somehow get Judy to relax, he'd throw some jokes, turn up her fav music station and hell he'd even call her "cute" several times but it didn't get him any reaction. Instead, Judy silently stared out the window almost like all life was drained from her. Stopping the car at the construction site, Nick then nudged the bunny to get her attention, snapping out of her trance she climbed out of the car with the fox. Approaching, the construction site Judy stopped as she saw a figure wearing a red hoodie and doing something with the crime scene, her eyes went wide as she quickly turned to Nick.

"Nick, call for back up now!" She said, and then took off while Nick scrambled for the radio. Judy meanwhile rushed towards the figure that spotted her and started running away.

"STOP! ZPD POLICE!" The bunny yelled, but the figure didn't listen and instead jumped the fence and continued running. Cursing under her breath, Judy kicked off from the ground as she flipped over the fence and continued on her chase.

Running trough the busy streets, Judy tried her best not to lose sight of her target. The runner in question was moving quickly, jumping over cars pushing animals and objects in the bunny's path. But that wasn't gonna stop her by a longshot, cursing under her breath Judy kept going as fast she could. She would have used her gun, but due to the many civilians around it was rather risky as she could have missed and hit them instead then as the suspect was about to cross the street, suddenly a police car appeared from around the corner with the hoodied figure rolling over the hood and falling on his side. Just then, Nick dashed from the car and grabbed the figure from behind and handcuffed him as quickly as he could. Looking up, Nick smirked to his partner and then winked.

"Good thing I know some shortcuts, now let's see who our boy is" He said, lifting the figure up and removing the hood showing it was a grey fox looking like he was around eighteen years old with dark blue eyes. Not wanting to waste anytime, the two quickly threw the kid into the car and began to speed away towards the station.

"Okay kid, how bout you tell us why you were messing around with a crime scene." Nick said, leaning in his chair, while the teen fox glared at the two. The interrogation was somewhat dimly lit with a smell of coffee and cigarettes still high in the air, Nick even wondered if the smell just didn't burrow into the walls and floor and that's why it never left, or maybe 'cause nobody bothered to install a fan in this place.

"I wasn't messing around, some dude came to me and asked me to drop off a note and that's it. Gave me 200$ for it…" The fox said in response, as both Judy and Nick looked at each other briefly.

"Could you possibly describe this person and well show us said note?" Judy asked, as the teen scoffed.

"Depends, what would I get from it?" He asked, while Nick leaned across a table and flashed his sharp grin.

"How about not getting your ass thrown in jail for tampering with a crime scene, hm?" He asked, making the fox lose his smirk.

"Fuckin' hell..yeah I can describe the bloke as for the note it's in my pocket." He said, as Judy walked around and began digging in the teens pocket and soon fished out said note.

"What does it say, Carrots?"

" _If you cannot do something yourself. Find a helper. If you have no faith. Find God. If you cannot bring life. Find a woman. If you cannot live. Find an executioner. I cannot simply die, I must choose my death and I must choose my executioner."_ Judy read, as the two foxes looked at her, before the teen spoke out.

"What in the flying fuck is that supposed to mean?!" He exclaimed, as Judy hid the note away.

"Means these murderous aren't as random as we suspected…"

* * *

A lone figure sat in a lawn chair located on a small boat pier in one of the Sahara Square oases. Then, a small light flickered in the darkness followed by a cloud of smoke escaping from the figure's mouth. Getting up, he then approached what seemed like a wheel and began to crank it, soon enough another figure began to rise from the water, wrapped in chains and coughing violently. The chained up animal in question was a wolf, who coughed out some water before glaring at the figure. The wolf looked roughly in his 30's, with his fur somewhat unkempt and mangy along with a busted nose, wearing a very old looking T-shirt and somewhat torn up jeans

"W-W-What the fuck you want from me?!" He yelled, as the figure puffed out another ring of smoke while sitting back in the lawn chair.

"You know, whenever any leaving creature dies it sends out a message." The figure replied in a soft voice, then looked at the chained up creature, its eyes glowing golden in the night while he scanned him slowly as if feeling pity for him.

"What fucking message?! What are you talking about?!" The wolf yelled again, both pissed off and afraid at the same time, but leaning more towards pissed off.

"This message: "The most important thing in life is death." Have you received such a message?" The figure asked, blowing out one more ring of smoke as he then studied his hand. The wolf froze, then let out a somewhat broken laugh and struggled against his binds again.

"No! No, I haven't gotten any messages!" He cried out, as the figure stood up and approached the edge of the small pier, and then crouched down. The glowing eyes looking like they were trying to read the wolves soul, with the wolf feeling his anger die down and soon replaced with pure terror "P-P-Please, I beg you! I'll do anything, just please lemme go!"

"Why aren't you feeling anything?" The figure asked, the eyes narrowing into slits.

"I…I..I don't know, please I don't know!" The wolf cried again, tears appearing in his eyes as he began to whimper. The figure meanwhile made his way towards the wheel once more.

"Every living thing feels it with every nerve and molecule of their body. But, you aren't feeling it, why is that?" He asked, and then began to crank the wheel and lower the wolf back into the waters.

"I don't know! I don't know!" The wolf repeated again and again, as he vanished into the water with bubbling noises soon coming out instead, eventually the bubbles stopped rising and there was only silence. The figure had long vanished, and instead on the lawn chair sat a puppet figure submerged into a large glass of water, with a note and a small porcelain fish figurine beside it.


End file.
